"After a bit more idle chat, the actor then mentioned that they were handing out flyers about a university careers event, and asked the participant whether they

"After a bit more idle chat, the actor then mentioned that they were handing out flyers about a university careers event, and asked the participant whether they would like to take a handful to hand around themselves. The effects of the flattery were dramatic, with 79% of the participants offering to help with the event publicity, compared with only 46% of participants in a control group, who had not received the compliment." How did the test avoid the fairly obvious effect that a compliment can often be a form of flirting and so might have been less to do with reciprocity as much as the person simply wanted to hang out with the likely quite sociable actor?